ᐅ Floor plan and elevations of a single-family house with approximately 1,700 sq ft on a sloped site

Created on: 6 Dec 2022 21:01

Dear forum members, today we would like to present our floor plan and hope for positive feedback and suggestions on possible improvements. Our basic wish is for a bright house with 4 bedrooms on the upper floor and a living-level basement designed to accommodate 2 offices. We see the basement as necessary, especially due to the sloping site. The ground floor will then provide a spacious living and kitchen area. We have now received the first plans from the architect and would like to optimize them as much as possible with your help. The furniture layouts are only examples and still need to be finalized. Note: The room labeled as an office on the upper floor is intended to become Child 3’s bedroom. The guest room in the basement will be a combined guest/office room. The design of the outdoor areas, such as the terrace and the shape of the new property boundary, still needs to be planned in more detail.

Development plan/restrictions
Plot size: 702 sqm (7,555 sq ft)
Slope: yes, approximately 1.7 m (5.6 ft) higher at the street than at the rear of the property
Site coverage ratio: 0.35
Floor area ratio: none
Building envelope, building line, and boundary: garage minimum 5 m (16 ft) from street, house minimum 3.5 m (11.5 ft)
Number of parking spaces: no requirement
Number of floors: 2
Roof type: gable, hip, or pyramid roof with pitch between 22° and 43°
Orientation: southwest

Owner requirements
Roof type: preferably gable roof
Basement, floors: basement yes, preferably 2 full stories
Number of occupants, ages: 4 (35, 33, 4, and 2)
Room requirements on ground and upper floors: preferably 3 children’s bedrooms on the upper floor
Office: 2 home office spaces desired
Guest stays per year: about 10 times per year from grandparents, hence a guest room
Conservative or modern design: rather modern, I would say
Open kitchen, kitchen island: kitchen island
Fireplace: desirable
Balcony, roof terrace: possibly convert the garage roof later into a balcony
Garage, carport: garage for 1 car with sufficient storage space for bicycles

Additional wishes/details/daily routine, including reasons for choices:
We wanted the 3 children's bedrooms and the master bedroom on the upper floor. Additionally, a small bathroom for the parents there. The basement made sense to us because of the sloping site. It should provide one dedicated office and one combined office/guest room, both with daylight windows. Additionally, a large hobby room for versatile use is desired. On the ground floor, a pantry and laundry room connected to the garage were requested. Later on, it should be possible to convert the garage roof into a terrace.

House design
Origin of the design: Architect based on our detailed requirements (see above).

What do you particularly like? Why?
Our room layout wishes have been implemented.

What do you not like? Why?
The bathrooms on the upper floor and the living area on the ground floor may be too small.

Estimated cost according to architect/planner: not available yet. Probably around 650,000 - 700,000 € (including additional building costs)
Preferred heating technology: air or ground-source heat pump

If you had to give up some details/extras
- Could give up: fireplace, possibly 2nd bathroom on upper floor, walkable garage roof
- Could not give up: 4 bedrooms on upper floor, basement with 2 offices

Why is the design the way it is now?
Our basic considerations were passed on directly to the architect. He has largely implemented our specifications and added some minor touches.

What is the most important/basic question about the floor plan in 130 characters?
We find the existing floor plan generally well done and hope to receive constructive criticism and further suggestions from you to optimize it.

Northwest elevation of a house as a technical drawing with roof and windows.

Southwest elevation of a modern house with side extension, large windows, and terrain cross-section.

Southeast elevation of a two-story house with gable roof, wooden facade, windows, door, and basement floor plan.

Northeast elevation of a modern two-story house with garage on the right and garden on the left.

Floor plan of a house with red interior walls; kitchen, dining, living, hallway, shower/WC, utility room, garage.

Floor plan of a basement with hobby room, guest room, technical room, and corridor.

Floor plan of a house: bedroom, study, children’s room, bathroom, hallway, stairs, red walls.

Myrna_Loy8 Dec 2022 10:44

#67

The floor plan itself is not wrong. However, personally, I wouldn’t build it this way if the house is intended as a forever home rather than a family house to be used for 15-20 years. The idea of having to fill so many rooms with life for just two people wouldn’t suit me. I would rather plan it so that it feels a bit tight with three children for a few years and later appears more spacious ~~wastefully~~ pardon, generously. But that's just me.

K a t j a8 Dec 2022 18:58

#68

Karl-Jupp schrieb:

East of the house, I would only make minimal adjustments to the terrain.

What nonsense are you talking? East of the house, you have planned a massive halo of light. No such thing as "minimal adjustments."

Karl-Jupp schrieb:

From the rear edge of the house, you could aim for an average ground level of 463.60 meters (1522 feet), for example. The terrace and ground floor would then perhaps be around 464.80 meters (1525 feet). As I said, these are just initial thoughts. Maybe both could also be 20 cm (8 inches) higher.

So you want to cut away half a meter (20 inches) behind the house, and then put the terrace on stilts? Will mice live underneath, or will you fill it back in again and build a platform into the landscape so the neighbors can see and hear you better? From that platform, it then slopes down next door to the next light well.
Good grief, what a mess. And then the homeowners complain that they received poor advice, as seen here:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/haus-ragt-in-hoehe-wie-hoch-erde-aufschuetten-kellertiefe-gering.44345/

Unfortunately, the pictures were removed, probably because the original poster found it embarrassing.

Other issues like drainage, the chimney on the upper floor, and wasted or lacking space are being stubbornly ignored. The kitchen is the only thing being talked up as sufficiently nice.

So far, all I see is a botched job, and I hope you reconsider. 700K for a house and your kitchen is smaller than in my old one-bedroom apartment. Wake up! Get rid of this and go to a real architect!

Karl-Jupp9 Dec 2022 00:26

#69

Sunshine387 schrieb:

I agree with the idea of a house on a slope, specifically adding an extra room downstairs to avoid having a basement and thereby increasing the floor area on the ground and upper floors. And regarding additional costs, don’t forget these items:

Property transfer tax
Building application / planning permission
Building permit
Land survey
Soil report
Possible demolition of existing buildings
Tree removal work
Setting up a construction access road
Removal of excavated soil or soil replacement
Utility connection fees (electricity, water, sewage, telephone, etc.)
Construction water and temporary power supply
Insurance

These can add up to a mid five-figure amount.

Thanks again for the list. We won’t need all of these items and are currently estimating around 10% of the house cost, which is also a mid five-figure amount. That seems to fit our assumptions. It was basically already included in our budget. However, as mentioned before, we still need to discuss costs with the architect and possibly request quotes. After that, we’ll have a clearer picture of the actual expenses.

Karl-Jupp9 Dec 2022 00:40

#70

Myrna_Loy schrieb:

I’m hesitant to suggest changes to the floor plan because, like ypg, I feel the owners are very attached to their design since it includes almost everything you’d want nowadays.
I get the impression that the floor plan will only be seriously reconsidered once the first complete and detailed quotes are in, and it turns out there’s a shortfall of about 100,000 euros.
I would recommend revising the house on the left side, shortening it, and giving up the ideal utility room with garage access, reorienting the kitchen, and removing the third shower from the guest toilet. With a basement over 80 sqm (860 sq ft) and a large garage, I don’t see the need for a big storage room. Personally, I would forgo the basement and try to organize the space above ground more efficiently. If the development plan allows it, I would even increase the footprint if necessary and build 110 sqm (1,186 sq ft) per floor.

Thank you for the constructive feedback. Yes, it includes everything we like, and we would also prefer a basement over two floors of 110 sqm (1,186 sq ft) each. (That could be Plan B.) Based on all the information we’ve received from companies so far, we have to assume for now that we are not actually short by 100,000 euros. But you’re right—if it turns out that’s not the case, we will have to revise the plans. For now, we just want to optimize the current floor plan and identify its weaknesses from your perspective. These include, for example, the kitchen being too small, the children’s bathroom on the upper floor, and the layout of the plot including the terrace.

We plan to discuss these topics with the architect now. We have a different opinion than you do about the kitchen, but that is a personal judgment on our part.

Karl-Jupp9 Dec 2022 00:44

#71

Myrna_Loy schrieb:

The floor plan in this form is not wrong as such. I would just personally not build it this way if the house is planned as a forever home and not as a family home to be used for 15-20 years. The idea of having to fill so many rooms with life as a couple wouldn’t be for me. I would rather plan it so that it feels a bit tighter for a few years with three children and later appears ~~wasteful~~ pardon, more spacious. But that’s just me.

Yes, thanks also for the comment. We see it the same way, but for now we have decided on the larger version so that it fits now, and later on we will have to see what that means for us.

11ant9 Dec 2022 13:00

#72

I only have brief visits here, so here’s a quick and rough summary: this appears to be a typically unimaginative design approach, which causes serious problems especially on sloped sites. Considering the tide range in the building area, just by averaging the heights, there is a risk of underground parts in contact with the soil, which immediately leads builders using timber frame "prefab" houses to reflexively pull out a partner’s basement design as a one-size-fits-all solution. The saying "If you don’t have it in your head, you’ll have to use your legs" translates in hillside locations to every shortcut during site surveying ending up in costly earthworks. Client-supplied items keep the budget difference below the warning threshold until construction starts. Make sure to offer the garage as an optional "turnkey" package, then that’s when the rose-colored glasses start to fall off. But thanks for the inspiration, I’m working on a “How to screw up your dream house” guide for the medium term ;-)

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

ᐅ Floor plan and elevations of a single-family house with approximately 1,700 sq ft on a sloped site

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